Launch · Financial Services

PhonePe adds 20,000 staff to push rural payments

By Startup Enthusiast · 24 September 2026

What they do

PhonePe provides UPI payments, merchant solutions and financial services across India

It will hire over 20,000 frontline staff and deploy more than 5 million payment devices, half in rural areas, backed by a dedicated MDR fund

The move leverages the new 0.4% merchant discount rate and streamlined labour codes to deepen financial inclusion in tier‑6 towns

PhonePe said it will add more than 20,000 frontline sales staff on its payroll within the next year to broaden its merchant outreach.
The company plans to deploy more than 5 million payment devices such as SmartSpeakers and POS terminals across India.
Around 50 % of the devices will be placed in rural and tier‑6 towns to reach small merchants.
A dedicated fund using 5 % of MDR collections will support small‑merchant expansion in deep‑rural geographies.
The new 0.4 % MDR on person‑to‑merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000 will fund the expansion effort.
PhonePe expects the MDR revenue pool to create a sizable annual pool for banks and UPI apps, with a quarter going to app providers.
The rollout aims to create a digitally active, KYC‑compliant merchant base that can access formal credit and other financial services.

The recently announced MDR framework gives PhonePe a stable revenue source to invest in merchant acquisition.
Simplified labour codes introduced in 2025 have streamlined compliance, enabling faster onboarding of a large on‑roll workforce.
A small‑merchant fund earmarked from MDR collections will specifically target deep‑rural expansion.

PhonePe offers a UPI‑based payments app for consumers to send money, recharge, pay bills and shop online.
It provides offline merchant solutions including SmartSpeakers, QR codes, POS devices and payment gateways.
The platform also offers financial services such as insurance, mutual funds, gold, loans and credit cards.
PhonePe’s merchant lending product gives small businesses quick, flexible credit based on transaction data.
Its ecosystem includes advertising solutions for brands to reach users on the app.
The company serves over 720 million registered users and more than 50 million merchants nationwide.

PhonePe will continue to roll out devices in tier‑6 towns throughout the next 12 months.
The company aims to onboard lakhs of small merchants into the formal credit ecosystem.
It plans to refine the small‑merchant fund in consultation with the RBI.